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Humans: The Mind of God in the body of an Animal

Gjallarhorn

N'yog-Sothep
Ok well that is rediculously cool - well done! muchos frubals.

I'm going to stand by my OP however.... and see this as a potential anomali, possibly a result of intense training in the interests of tourism.
Animals can be made to do amazing things.... by humans.
If you're going to claim conditioning is at play, present evidence of it.
 

Octavia156

OTO/EGC
Straws are hard to hold on to, ain't they?

Ever seen a dog play fetch?

I understand dogs need to be exercised to stay healthy - whats your point?

When my cat is bored he sleeps.

Some theories suggest that the sapiens mind began to evolve when our ancestors got insomnia.:shrug:
 
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idav

Being
Premium Member
I'm going to stand by my OP however.... and see this as a potential anomali, possibly a result of intense training in the interests of tourism.
Animals can be made to do amazing things.... by humans.

Elephants have shown to be as aware as the great apes.
 

Adramelek

Setian
Premium Member
Can you present evidence of non-conditioning? Elephants are smart animals and like many other smart pets can be taught to do amazing tricks, by humans. However, this does not show they have independent higher intelligence.
 
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idav

Being
Premium Member
You present evidence of non-conditioning. Elephants are smart animals and like many other smart pets can be taught to do amazing tricks, by humans.

Humans can be taught cool tricks too because we are allowed to learn it first. Are painters not allowed to learn how to paint?:confused:
 

Adramelek

Setian
Premium Member
Show me an elephant that can create something new, a masterpiece painting all on its own from its own self-aware, independent creativity, then I might reconsider my position.

/Adramelek\
 

idav

Being
Premium Member
Show me an elephant that can create something new, a masterpiece painting all on its own from its own self-aware, independent creativity, then I might reconsider my position.

/Adramelek\

Moving goalposts a bit. We need interspecies competitions now?
 

Noaidi

slow walker
Show me an elephant that can create something new, a masterpiece painting all on its own from its own self-aware, independent creativity, then I might reconsider my position.

/Adramelek\
Every painting that elephant did was new. Who is to say it's not a masterpiece (what criterion defines it as such, anyway)?
The point is that we are too keen to view the abilities of non-human animals in a patronising "well it's all very nice, but we could do so much better" kind of way.
Who are we to say that animals don't have a sense of the aesthetic? Are we really so pathetically self-absorbed and self-inflated that we deny all other species any sense of artistry or creativity?
 

Octavia156

OTO/EGC
no - I don't think its self inflated to look at my iPhone and go WTF - aren't we amazing.

Why so quick to jump to the defense of inferior beings? There is clearly somethin that puts Humans a cut above any other species and I posit that its foundation lies in our apparent Will to Create for Creations' sake - [ART]

Hence the Mind of a God in the body of an animal.
 
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Gjallarhorn

N'yog-Sothep
no - I don't think its self inflated to look at my iPhone and go WTF - aren't we amazing.

Why so quick to jump to the defense of inferior beings?
Because you're not just saying "hey, aren't humans awesome?" You're saying "Hey, no one else does this but us!", which is probably bogus.
 

Octavia156

OTO/EGC
Because you're not just saying "hey, aren't humans awesome?" You're saying "Hey, no one else does this but us!", which is probably bogus.

I'm saying both, and it appears not to be bogus cause noone has yet to provide any crediable evidence to the contrary
 

Octavia156

OTO/EGC
to clarify - I'm not saying animals do not have the capacity to Learn (which is what the elephant example demonstrates) or the capacity for memory or self awareness. These are different faculties, I'm talking specifically about the inclination to create for pleasure.
 

idav

Being
Premium Member
to clarify - I'm not saying animals do not have the capacity to Learn (which is what the elephant example demonstrates) or the capacity for memory or self awareness. These are different faculties, I'm talking specifically about the inclination to create for pleasure.

I can see what your saying, I'd be mighty impressed if any animals started harnessing fire like we did some hundreds of thousands of years ago. Higher intelligence is one thing but they may have a better connection to nature than we do.
 

VictoriousPumpkin

New Member
I understand dogs need to be exercised to stay healthy - whats your point?

When my cat is bored he sleeps.

Some theories suggest that the sapiens mind began to evolve when our ancestors got insomnia.:shrug:

But cats just don't sleep when they are bored. They come annoy you or tear up some piece of furniture or they invent games. My cats growing up used to love milk jug rings and they would dig them out of the trash, steal them off the counters to play with them. I guess they just could have napped, but they chose not to.

Crows and ravens have been well documented to do things for no other reason than it is fun, like roll in the snow, slide and 'snowboard' down icy roof tops. YouTube has a lot of videos of this.
 
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